48 Words

Paul says, in I Thessalonians 2:4b-6:

"We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed - God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else."

Today's blog will be short, more in line as a challenge than a thought provoker.

What if this short 48-word shpiel were the primary premise in how we operate? If everything we did was not done for the sake of kudos or paychecks or future back scratches.

I'm not writing this because of the problems in the world, although I do see many of them. I write to suggest that to live with these 48 words as the main motivator in how we live, how we do things, would reduce many of the world's problems, like hunger and poverty and war and poor economic conditions and racial strains to little or no impact.

But I don't wish to be seen as writing this from the disengaged comforts of my home office, to safely and simply proclaim that there are problems in the world out there, and these 48 words alone would fix all of it's problems.

I confess to you, the reader, that I see a lacking, a falling short in my own life, and sometimes, no, most of the time, I stink at being real.

Which is why this verse gets me. These 48 words expose what I see in the mirror - a mask at times, a man-pleasing facade instead of pushing to be a God-reflection.

Real. Genuine. Honest. Trustworthy. These are traits that I don't just wish I had; I want to be known for having these characteristics.

Before I am seen as being clergy, I pray that I am seen as being genuine. Before I am known as being religious, I hope that people know me as being dependable and unselfish. Before I say a word, I desire that whoever is listening won't doubt that I believe what I speak to be the truth.

Today, I will work to leave my mask off all day long, and tomorrow, and the next day.

I pray that all that I do and say is pleasing in God's eyes, and that these 48 words, as spoken by God through the writings of Paul, will speak to me - and you - today.